Car-truck.



G. T. W ESTLAKE.

OAR TRUCK.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 20, 1913.

Patented Nov. 25, 1913.

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UNITED sir-Ares rATENrorr-rcn CHARLES 'r. WESTLAKE, or sr. LOUIS, MIssorIRI', Assrenon. To SWING ROLLING TRUCK 00., or sun LOUIS, MISSOURI, Acocaror'te'rron or DELAWARE.

Specification ra s Patent. Pat t N 19 3.

Application filed January 20, 1913. Serial a... 743,087.

To all whom it may concem LAKE, a citizen of theUnited States, residing at St. Louis, Missouri, haveinvented acertain new and useful Improvement in Car- Trucks, of which the following is a'full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertainsto make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying draw- -'ng s, formlng part of this speclfication, in

Which. Figure 1 is a sectional view taken transversely through a car truck of my improved construction at a point adjacent to the =bolster and spring plank, and showing the rolling supports for the bolster, as contemplated by my invention. Fig. 2 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 1, and showing the bolster and rolling supports in the positions they assume when the bolster is shifted or swung laterally with respectv to the truck I Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken frame.

provements in railway car trucks, and more particularly to the supporting means for the end portions of the truck bolster, which roximately on the line 3-3 of Fig.

supporting means, in the form of rolling bearings, permits the bolster .to move or swing laterally with respect to the truck frame and at the same time elevating one end of the bolster. v

The feature of a lateral or swing-motion car truck, and which gives it its name, is the provision therein for a certain amount of lateral swing or movement of the truck bolster relative to the truck frame, and thus,

under normal conditions and upon straight track the bolster is maintained in a substantially horizontal plane, and when turning a curve at other than very low speed, the centrifugal force of the car body transmitted to the bolster causes the same to swing or shift laterally of the truck frame centrifugally of -the track curve.

It is the usual practice in lateral or swing-motion trucks to utilize pairs of swing hangers, the members of which pairs converge alike toward their upper ends, and such arrangement produces a horizontal force at the lower end of each hanger, and this force, being normally equal, will balance and maintain the bolster in a horizontal plane. d

i Q external-force applied-horizontally to the weight carried by the swing hangers will cause said weight to swing laterally, and during such swinging movement the weight will be constrained to travel in a curved path and at the same time said weight which is represented by the car body will partially rotate about an imaginary axis. This arrangement of swing hangers has been found very desirable and advantageous in car trucks,xand it is the principal object of my invention to accomplish the same result by the use of rolling bearings beneath the ends of the bolster, which arrangement effects a material reduction in cost of application and maintenance in number-of parts and :in weight.

w A furthericbject of my "invention is to provide bearing surfaces or seats of proper contour for the rolling bearings beneath the ends of the bolster so that when said bolster moves laterally in either direction the movement attained by the use of swinghangers will be reproduced and thecar body in travy invention relates generally to 1111- cling through a curved path is raised at one side more "than the other, and at the same time said car body is caused to rock or' to partially rotate about an imaginary axls.

To the above purposes my invention consists in certain novel features of construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

Referring by numerals to the accompanying drawings which illustrate a simple construction and arrangement for carrying out my invention,-1 designates the truck bolplates 4, and the undersides 7 of :these plates 6 are gradually curved downward fromtheir outer ends toward their inner ends, thus a pair ,of oppositely arranged, curved bearing surfaces areprovidedon the adjacent faces of the plates 4 and 6, and interposed between these plates and engaging on said curved bearing surfaces are rollers 8, preferably constructed of hardened metal.

.If desired the ends of the plates 4 and 6 may be provided with flanges or shoulders to prevent endwise movement of the. rollers during their rolling movement upon the curved bearing surfaces, and the plates 6 may be part of the bolster 1. \Vith the parts in normal positions, as shown in Fig. 1, and with the rollers at central positions between the ends of the plates 4 and 6, the bolster is maintained in practically a horizontal plane, and by arrangement of the curved bearing faces with respect to the interposed rollers and with respect to each other, the bolster will tend to retain its horizontal position while the truck is traveling on straight track.

In my improved construction it will be noted that the curved or concave roller seats 'or bearing faces of the plates 4 and 6 are arranged so that straight lines passing through the centers of the interposed rollers and the points of contact between said rollers and the roller seats will converge upward in all positions of the rollers. Thus, I obtain in rolling supports the same effect as is. obtained by the use of converging swing hangers.

Whenthe bolster is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1, as a result of centrifugal force developed by the car rounding a curve at comparatively high speed, the plates 6 carried by the bolster Wlll ride upon the rollers toward the right, and

said rollers will be caused to move in like direction upon the curved bearing surfaces of the plates 4.

By the arrangement of the curved bearing surfaces on the plates 4 and 6 on the right hand side of the truck the right hand end of the bolster will be elevated, as shown in Fig. 2, while the opposite or left'hand end will be lowered, due to the fact that the left hand roller has traveled'to the lowermost or deepest portions of the bearing surfaces on the plates 4 and 6 on the left hand side of the truck. As a result, the 'car body supported by the bolster moves through a curved path, and at the same time is caused to partially rotatejabout an imaginary axis. During the movements just described the roller on the right hand side of the truck encounters considerable resistance by reason of its bearing against the higher ortions of the curved bearing surfaces, an thus the centrifugal force of the car body transmitted to the bolster is absorbed or counteracted and utilized to maintain equilibrium of the car body in its passage around curves at comparatively high speed. I

By my improved construction the action and desirable results obtained by the use'of swing hangers are reproduced, and by the use of rolling supports a considerable amount of friction is eliminated and a considerable 4 saving is effected in weight, number of parts, original cost and repairs It will be readily understood that minor changes in the size, form and construction of the various parts of my improved car truck can be made and substituted for those herein shown and described without departing from the spirit of my invention, the scope of which is set forth in the appended claims.

I claim: 1. A car having a rolling body support operating on surfaces formed and arranged so that, when the car body moves laterally, it is caused to travel in a curved path and to also partially rotate about an imaginary aXlS.

2. A car having a rolling body support operating on surfaces formed and arranged so that when the car body is moved laterally,

one side thereof iselevated and the other side is lowered. r

3. In a car truck, a bolster, rolling supports beneath said bolster, and bearing surfaces for said rolling supports, which surfaces are arranged to elevate one end of said bolster and to lower the opposite end when the bolster is shifted laterally with respect to the truck. I c

4. In car construction, a lateral motion device comprising rollers and curved roller seats arranged so that straight lines passing through the centers of the rollers and points of contact between the rollers and seats converge upward in all positions of the rollers.

5. In a car truck, a bolsterhavin curved roller seats, rollers engaging said rol er seats for supporting being formed so that stralght lines pass ng through the centers of the rollers and points of contact between the rollers and seats converge upwardly in all positions of said rollers.

6. In a car truck, a bolster provided with curved bearing faces, su porting rollers which engage the bearing aces on said bolster, and roller supporting members provided with curved rollerseats upon which the rollers engage, which roller seats and interposed rollers are arranged so that straight lines passing through the centers of the rollers and points of contact between the rollers and seats converge upward in all positions of the rollers.

7. In car constructlon, a lateral motion device comprising rollers and roller seats arranged so that the car body when moved laterally from its normal position will be constrained to travel in a curved path and to partially rotate about an imaginary axis.

8; In a car truck the combination with a bolster, of supporting means for each end thereof which supporting means comprises pairs of plates and rollers interposed between the plates of each pair, said plates having curved roller seats arranged so that when the car body is moved laterally from it normal position it will be constrained to travel in a curved path and to partially rotateabout an imaginary axis.

9. In a car truck, a bolster, supporting rollers beneath the end portions of said bolster, which rollers are supported upon bearing surfaces curved throughout their length and engage against bearing surfaces on the underside of the bolster, which lastmentioned bearing surfaces are curved throughout their length, .and said curved bearing surfaces and the rollers are arranged so that the car body when moved laterally from its normal position will be constrained to travel ina curved path and to also partially rotate about an imaginary axis.

10. In a car truck, a bolster, supporting rollers beneath theiend portions of said boltioned bearing'surfaces are curved throughout their length, the bearing surfaces of each pair beingoppositely curved, whereby when the car body is moved laterally from its normal position it will be constrained to travel in a curved path and to also partially rotate about an imaginary axis.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature in the presence of two witnesses, this 14th day of January, 1913.

CHARLES T. WE STLAKE.

Witnesses: I

HAL 'C. BEILVIILE, FRED N. BLANKENHORN. 

